Trust Him: He's the Doctor
by Vilinye
Summary: One-shots for Season Six. Obviously, spoilers, but episode numbers in paranthesis will be at the end of the chapter name.
1. Deliberarately Doolally 1

Was there always a mention of a bow-tie wearing man in her books about Albert Einstein? Not to mention the oh-so-familiar face peeking out from that famous picture of the Beetles. Maybe the universe had changed a little since Big Bang 2, but she would have noticed that before. As a little girl, she was always looking for information about her Raggedy Doctor—granted, at that point, he wasn't wearing the bow tie, but she would have noticed.

"He's being deliberately doolally," she remarked to Rory. "And he hasn't been by for two months."

"He's the Doctor, he'll be fine." Rory commented. "I'm going to pick up the paper." He opened the door and read the headlines. "Royal wedding proceeds on schedule… American economy worsens."

"There—" Amy closed the paper and pointed to a little picture on the back page. "Right in the middle of that 'today-in-history' blurb."

"First modern Olympics. Bystander John Smith says 'It's totally cool…'" Rory blinked at the photo. "Okay, that's definitely him."

"I knew it! Something's up." The doorbell rang. "I'll get that, but we're going to find out what it is."


	2. Sorry 1

"I'm sorry," He whispers, barely able to hear himself over the pounding of his hearts. Time's wires cross. All the faces he had try to speak, try to say their last goodbyes, the last words he'll say. His previous face speaks for all of them.

_I'm sorry._

Sorry that I invited you to my funeral.

Sorry that I brought you so close to death so many times.

Sorry that I couldn't come up with a better plan.

Sorry that I'll walk in the door in a few hours.

River, you'll slap me and I'll smile. I'm sorry for that most of all. Because it will twist like a knife, and you'll spend months trying not to tell me.

But I'm already dead.

I'm sorry.


	3. Scream 1

"River!"

The tone says so much more than the single word.

It holds panic; raw, uncontrolled panic, a sense that the world has broken beyond compare.

It holds anger: "How could he let this happen? I'll kill him!"

It holds scarlet sorrow, acidic tears burning tender skin.

It holds confusion, trapped in a stone maze where the exit is seen, but unreachable.

It holds trust shattered, a hand let go in the middle of a blinding snowstorm.

It is a tone River has heard before, but not directed toward her.

It is a tone that says one word, and yet so much more.

It says "Doctor."


	4. Properly 1

Rory waded back to shore, ignoring the desert chill on his wet legs. It was real. This was really happening. That was the Doctor's body out there, his tweed jacket and ridiculous bowtie turning to ash as flames filled the horizon.

There was nothing to say. Anything would sound cheap. The Lone Centurion, who had stood watching a silent prison for centuries, who took the slow path so Amy would be safe, couldn't do anything to save the man who had saved both him and Amy so many times.

Amy stood on the shore, her shoulders still heaving with silent sobs. _Amy, I'm sorry,_ he wanted to say, wanted to take her in his arms and let her cry for the Raggedy Doctor, but when she was in this state of mind, there was no knowing how she'd respond.

She might wrap her arms around his neck and cry, or punch him in the chest and call him stupid. Rory wasn't sure he could handle the later at the moment. So he shuffled out of the water and stood beside her as she watched the funeral boat drift across the lake.


	5. King of Okay 1

"Who did the Doctor trust the most?"

Even before River's question dies away, the diner's back door opens, and someone walks in.

Not just any someone, either.

It's _him._

Tweed jacket, red bowtie, and chewing on a straw, of all things!

The Doctor.

"This is cold. Even by your standards, this is cold," River gasps.

"Or _hello,_ as people used to say," he replies.

"How can you be here?" you gasp.

"I just popped out to get my special straw. Adds more fizz."

That's him. That's him all over, your crazy, childish, insane Doctor.

You walk forward, circling him like a fish judging a bait. "You're okay. How can you be okay?" You hate the tremble that slips into your voice, but it's him and he died, and it's how can he be here?

"Of course I'm okay, I'm the king of okay. Oh, that's a rubbish title, forget that title. Rory the Roman, that's a good title. Hello, Rory." He turns to River. "Doctor River, oh you bad, bad girl. What have you got for me this time?"

River slaps him.

You approve. How can he do this to you, to all of you? He may be a Time Lord, but that doesn't give him any right to pull stunts like that.

"Okay, I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet."

River's voice carried the icy cold of a glacier crashing into the sea. "Yes. Yes, it is."

"Good, looking forward to it."

You swallow again. Any other time this would make you laugh and start teasing the Doctor about his romantic future, but…how can he be here?


	6. Strange 1

Something is strange. Stranger than fish fingers with custard (to others: to you, they're brilliant little snacks); stranger than Amy not liking bowties.

"_How can you be okay?"_

"_This is cold. Even for you, this is cold."_

The slap. Something you haven't done yet…

Maybe it's something small: Amy tried to kiss you again. Rassilion, you hope not. It was awkward enough the last time, with you pressed up against the TARDIS door and Amy's hands on your suspenders and…

No, not there. Not going there. You pat the TARDIS console. "That really wasn't my idea, dear." What did River mean? Who recruited you? Someone who trusted you more than anyone. Well, that really narrows it down.

To nobody.

You pull a few levers, spin a few dials, do a few spacy things that you just thought up this moment to make the TARDIS fly more smoothly.

Where is everyone?

You poke your head over the edge of the floor. "I'm being extremely clever up here and there's no one to stand around looking impressed. What's the point in having you all?"

They look at you with that strange, distant expression, but you ignore it. Nineteen sixty-nine, space, Canton Delaware the Third—why can't they pay attention?


	7. Something that Matters 1

Amy stepped forward. "Trust me." She knew how much she was asking; there were so many secrets that couldn't be revealed yet. It wasn't playing games; the last thing she wanted was to play games with him. But River's "Spoilers, sweetie," wasn't going to cut it this time.

"Okay," He turned from River and walked up to her.

"You have to do this, and you can't ask why." _Trust me, Doctor._

"Are you being threatened, is someone making you say that?"

"No." Her answer came quickly, too quickly to be convincing.

"Are you lying?"

"No." River Song's comment in the museum hung in Amy's mind. _Rule One: The Doctor lies._ How did River Song know that? Had she already been through this event, had the Doctor asked her this before? They were always meeting in the wrong order.

"Swear to me, swear to me on something that matters." His eyes gleamed, a notch above the precipice of icy fury.

_My wedding vows—_no, after her attempts to snog him in her bedroom that wouldn't mean anything to him

_My parents—_the parents she had only known since waking up for her wedding.

_My life—_she's already trusted it to him.

Her eyes darted from side to side, searching for an answer.

Only one thing came to mind. The one thing she knew he'd believe. From the day they'd met, Amelia Pond and the Raggedy Doctor, the one thing that would matter to both of them.

"Fish fingers and custard."


	8. Working Backwards

"Ah, let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards."

That is the final straw. You can't take it anymore. He was already working backwards, but he didn't know it. Or is it the three of you—Rory, River, and you—who are working backwards? River already meets the Doctor in the wrong order, but have you joined her timestream or has she joined the Doctor's? He's met her before the Byzantium, you know that much, but there must have been another meeting, one he didn't tell you about.

"_Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order." _

If only you could be sure that you'd keep meeting him, even if it was in the wrong order. But could you manage to keep it a secret for that long? Could you keep yourself from blurting out how awful it was to watch him die? It would be—be—

_Like being him._ Maybe he had seen you in the future, seen you old and grey, dying in a nursing home with Rory by your side. Maybe even sooner, sometime in the TARDIS, when he couldn't get there in time. You used to associate backwards living with mazes or crossword puzzles, not life. Anything was possible with time travel. Even living backwards.


	9. Joy

You turn around—what's that? It makes your heart jump, just a little bit. "Oh my, look at that! Is that a Star Trek mask? Keni, is that you?" Who else would be doing something that crazy in the White House restrooms? Not that you actually know what Star Trek is, but your nephews have been talking about it so much, and this just seems like something they'd wear.

"Just step back, would you?"

You turn to face the speaker. Just…what is she talking about again? "Back from what, honey?" She's a nice girl, you decide, even if her skirt is far too short.

"That—" she points behind you.

What's that? It makes your heart jump, just a little bit. "Oh my, look at that! Is that a Star Trek mask? Keni, is that you?" Who else would be doing something that crazy in the White House restrooms? Not that you actually know what Star Trek is, but your nephews have been talking about it so much, and this just seems like something they'd wear. "Hang on, did I just say all that?

The lights start to flicker. "Oh, those lights, they never fix them."

Something moves in the mirror. You start to scream as energy arcs from its long, rubbery fingers, shooting into your chest.


	10. Repaid

You won't fight this one alone. It's not a matter of bravery or skill, but pragmatics. For this battle, you need an army. And an army you shall have. It's time to collect on your debts.

For a moment, you consider finding your old friends—Martha, Sarah, Jack—but quickly discard the idea. You trust them far more than anyone else, but this is too dangerous. You can't put them in that sort of danger for you sake. After all, they don't owe you anything. In fact, you are indebted to them


	11. Rule Seven

Rule Seven

Never run when you're scared. Rule seven, he told her as her poison rushed through his system. His nerves twisted with pain, but he stretched a hand towards the TARDIS. Had to get inside. Had to save Amy and Rory.

"You still care. "

Even with his amazing powers of deduction, he still wasn't sure what was going through her mind as she stepped over his cramping body and into the TARDIS. Why was he pleading for help from his murder?

Because she was the only one there.

And then she kissed him, her first kiss, first of how many, and he could feel her regenerations burning the Judas poison from his cells. So he left her with the Sisters of the Infinite Schism, gave her the blue journal to record her adventures, and ran.

He ran into a little boy's cupboard of nightmares, and through a strange stream of time, and a alien hotel that was really a prison.

But he couldn't wait any longer. So he landed on a quiet street in an ordinary neighborhood and let them go. And he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was scared. Scared of what might happen to them if they stayed in the TARDIS.

So he ran again.

But he never thought to be scared of what he might become alone.


End file.
